In this photo taken on a government-organized tour, a Syrian man shouts in support of President Bashar Assad, seen on the flag, as residents cheer Syrian soldiers leaving the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, Syria, Tuesday, Aug. 16. State-run news agency SANA said army units began withdrawing from Deir el-Zour Tuesday after ridding the city of "armed terrorist gangs" in an operation that lasted several days.

Syria's government is set to come under diplomatic assault today as the United Nations and United States prepare to take decisive actions against the regime. The two-pronged attack comes on the heels of comments from Turkey that make clear its overtures to its neighbor are over.

The US previously said that President Assad has lost his legitimacy as a leader. The call for him to leave office would have come sooner, but Turkey, Syria's neighbor, asked for time to try to persuade Assad to reform and the US wanted to act with a global consensus against the autocrat, the AP reports.

AP reports that yesterday Mr. Erdogan compared Assad to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, whose own crackdown on his country's protesters prompted the international community to stage a swift military intervention to prevent an expected bloodbath and to call on him to relinquish power.

Ankara has not indicated willingness to lead an international coalition to conduct coercive diplomacy to push drastic measures on the Syrian administration, but instead it is seeking coherence with regional countries. Along with Western actors, Turkey has been discussing the situation with regional countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

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Although Ankara might have not succeeded with its preventive diplomacy on Syria, since Assad has not taken steps to end the violence or implement urgent reforms, Turkey prefers diplomatic ambiguity before applying isolation policies to Damascus. A limited engagement policy could continue for the Syrian administration, the diplomatic source said.

The call for Assad to step down and the new sanctions are not likely to have much of an effect right away, US officials acknowledged to AP, but it will mark the end of American support for Assad as a possible reformer.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay will address the council today, likely to relay evidence from their report on Syria that the regime has "committed grave violations of international human rights law."